Chapter 537: Beyond the gates
The morning sun cast pale gold streaks across the broken walls of the Omega Outpost. The wind carried the scent of iron, ash, and pine—an odd mixture that marked the edge of two realms: human domain and devil territory.
I stood quietly near the collapsed archway that once guarded the southern watchpoint, my cloak wrapped tightly around me, my face masked with a black hood made of mana-concealing fabric. The hum of dark energy in the air was unmistakable.
A few steps behind me, Lilith tightened the strap of her own travel pack. Her face was calm, but her violet eyes held a deep tension—a mix of fear and determination. She was going home... but not in the way anyone should return to their birthplace. She was heading toward a fractured kingdom, a throne usurped, and a father imprisoned.
Just as we were preparing to leave, a soldier called out from behind the inner perimeter.
"Commander Eleanore! Special delivery from Tech Genesis!"
I turned instinctively, my eyes narrowing.
A squad wheeled in a sealed military crate marked with the Tech Genesis logo—sleek, reinforced, unmarked aside from a discreet serial code etched on the surface. Eleanore stood by, arms crossed as she signed off on the document.
The shipment had been designated under her name for formality’s sake, part of the supplies intended to "support the outpost forces." But we both knew what it really was.
She opened the crate discreetly while keeping her body between it and the rest of the soldiers. Inside, nestled in foam was a simple black SS-grade storage ring, pulsing faintly with divine runes—silent, invisible to the naked eye, yet humming with suppressed power. Inside that ring was everything Aidan had collected for me. God-blessed weapons. Tools. Emergency artifacts. Mobility charms. Stealth cloaks. One-use divine barriers. Enough firepower to threaten a devil battalion.
Eleanore met my eyes and walked over, slipping the ring into my gloved hand without a word. I caught a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.
"You sure about this?" she asked quietly, almost under her breath.
"Not even a little," I replied, giving her the faintest smirk beneath my mask.